Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Up The Antons!!!

You had to know that this would end up here eventually. Here's the story: Around 1999 a CDR started making the rounds of a 19 year old Swedish youth named Anton Gustafsson struggling to hit the notes over midi files of classic Iron Maiden tunes. So horrible and endearing, many thought it was a hoax, and the liner notes declaring Anton's love of collecting novelty pencils didn't help. Anton took a lot of flack from Maiden diehards who saw his tribute as insulting, but this didn't stop Anton, the songs kept coming. Anton Maiden, as he was now called, enjoyed the sort of fleeting notoriety that the internet will offer any moderately lovable weirdo. But alas it was all too fleeting and Anton, like many despondent Scandinavians, opted to take his own life in 2003.

14 comments:

crackedmachine said...

Oh no! I love this cdr, and had no idea that he killed himself. That's really sad.

Anonymous said...

He killed himself? That really sucks, nerds like this are some of the best things this world has to offer.....

Anonymous said...

UP THE ANTONS!!! Awesome upload, thanks, man!

Andreas Deranged said...

OMFG, I was just thinking the other day that, "hm, I wonder if someone remembers that guy... illogical contraption could write an essay on him, but they probably won't... only Swedes would remember him". he was on TV and stuff.
anyway, your synchronicity is scary.

ümlaut said...

I don't know if you saw / heard this:

Hit The Lights
http://haggisbuffet.blogspot.com/2009/04/hit-lights.html

Chet the Medicine said...

i was already to laugh at a spectacular Aesop punchline, but now, now i just feel sad.

you sir are a master of pathos.

The Wolf said...

Holy hell... was reading this and then the ending was like a punch in the gut. What the Fuck...

Anthony said...

oh man! u just brought back sum memories of the "Hotel", sittin around listening to this! Sucks that he took his own life tho! ThnX Ace!

Brandude said...

I love stuff like this. Anybody who loves a band/music so much that they NEED to record things like this are A-OK in my book. A shame that he killed himself, but thanks for making me at least chuckle about it with another excellent post description.

Roger Camden said...

an outsider music classic

or

a testament to fandom

fink dial mudfly said...

Diehard purists need to lighten up these are cool. Probably not much else to do in Boondocks Sweden. Hallowed be thy Name and Flight of Icarus are probably my faves.

Anonymous said...

Fuck, you people are fucking hipsters.

Aesop said...

Troll somewhere else, children.

Anonymous said...

Fuck! Its really sad this kid topped himself. I wonder if all the flack he copped worked towards it? The internet can really bring out the worst in some cunts.

Up the Antons!!!!

RIP